Raine & Horne knights Newcastle with CBD office as fast trains beckon

The next phase of Raine & Horne’s expansion is aligned with a massive shift of buyers and renters to the Hunter region.

The Announcement:

Raine & Horne has added an office in Hunter Street Newcastle as talk of a fast train service between Sydney and Newcastle gains speed.

The dynamic team of Mr Cody Bice and Mr Brad Wallace will lead the Hunter Street-based office that specialises in residential sales and property management.

Mr Bice and Mr Wallace recently opened Raine & Horne Commercial Newcastle. 

Since 2019, Raine & Horne has also launched residential offices in New Lambton, Wallsend, and Mayfield, co-owned by Mr Colin Bice, Mr Tony Tolazzi and Mr Craig Fennings.

The Superbrand also opened Raine & Horne Maitland, Raine & Horne Cameron Park and Raine & Kurri Kurri in 2021. 

Timely opening and high-speed potential 

According to Mr Angus Raine, Executive Chairman of Raine & Horne, the Hunter and Lake Macquarie real estate markets are growing exponentially.

“More Sydneysiders recognise they have the opportunity to benefit from more affordable living costs while still holding down a capital city salary by working remotely,” he said.

“With so many Sydneysiders moving to NSW’s second capital either as owner-occupiers or renters, their knowledge of the Raine & Horne brand will make their shift to Newcastle and Lake Macquarie more seamless.”

A long-term advocate for a fast train between Newcastle and Sydney, Mr Raine said, “I’m delighted the Holy Grail of a Fast Rail between Sydney and the Hunter is back on the political agenda at a time when we are expanding our presence in the Hunter”. 

“The flood of buyers from Sydney to Newcastle will become a tsunami if trains operating at speeds of over 250 kilometres an hour can slash journey times between the cities from over two and a half hours to just 45 minutes.”

Mr Raine added, “I’m looking forward to working with Brad and Cody to bring Raine & Horne’s unique property services and products to vendors, buyers, investors and tenants in Newcastle”.

Raine & Horne in Newcastle is a no-brainer.

Before taking on Raine & Horne Newcastle, Mr Bice and Mr Wallace worked as part of the team at Raine & Horne’s offices in New Lambton, Wallsend, Mayfield and Belmont.

With this experience behind them, Mr Bice and Mr Wallace agreed that opening a residential sales and property management office in the Newcastle CBD under the Raine & Horne brand was straightforward. 

Mr Bice said, “Well, of course, we’ve got our existing offices, but to be able to set up the new office in Newcastle was just a fantastic opportunity. Newcastle has many residential apartments popping up, so being in the mix of it all is very exciting”. 

“And to be able to do it under the Raine and Horne brand, which we love working under, it’s a no brainer.”

Mr Bice continued, “Moreover, the service from Raine & Horne Corporate is unrivalled. If you send Corporate a message or an email, you get a response within 10 minutes, which is just unheard of in our industry”.

“We also have access to a range of experts in their fields whether it’s IT, marketing, finance or whatever. To have this access and rapid response times is just unbelievable.” 

Networking and referrals

Apart from the Raine & Horne brand’s massive reach, Mr Bice said collaborating with the group’s offices all over NSW and Australia is another plus.

“We are already talking to several offices in Sydney, and we received a lead for a Sydney investor looking for up to 10 properties in the Newcastle region,” Mr Bice said. 

“With the growth in demand from Sydney, we will be seeking to expand our team very quickly in the next three to six months.”

In addition to the flood of buyers and renters from Sydney, Mr Bice said the opening of Australia’s international borders will fuel demand for Newcastle real estate in 2022.

“Our market has been impacted by supply shortages combined with zero immigration.”

Mr Wallace added, “I’m very excited about being part of the next chapter for Raine & Horne Newcastle. The CBD has enjoyed a development surge with plenty of residential towers going up, and there seems to be a lot more national focus on Newcastle as a town”. 

“Newcastle is no longer under the radar, and the possibilities and options for a residential real estate office based in Hunter Street backed by the Raine & Horne brand are limitless.”

Source: Raine & Horne